Electric break for induction-coils



No. 607,!76. Patented luly I2, |898. T. B. KINRAIDE. l

ELECTRIC BREAK FCR INDUCTION COILS.

(No Model.)

llwiTnn STaTns FATTNT Ormea@ THOMAS B.

KINRAIDE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

ELECTRlC BREAK FOR lNDUCTlONf-COELS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters latent No. 607,176, dated July12,1898. Application tiled February 26, 1897. Serial No. 625,173. (Nomodel.)

T0 @ZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS B. KINRAIDE, of Boston, county of Suffolk,State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Electric Breaksfor Induction-Coils, of which the following description, in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, is a specification like letters on thedrawings representing like parts.

lt is the object of my invention to provide an improved automatic breakor interrupter for electric currents, my invention being particularlyadapted for use in interrupting the primary current of induction-coi1sin connection with X-ray and kindred apparatus.

My invention secures high speed and accuracy of break, the successivebreaks being'` magnet and a small contact or anvil, the lat-` ter beingmounted on the end of an adjusting-screw in the free end of a post orstandard.

One serious drawback to these instruments' has been that the speed ofinterruptionfi. e., the speed of the vibrations of the hammer-has beenquite limited and there has been an unevenncss of break. l have foundthat these faults are due to a compound vibration of the instrument,which tends to hasten some of the breaks and te retard others, and Ihave further found that this compound vibration,77 as I callit, may beobviated and that high speed may be attained and accurate breaks securedby providing an absolutely rigid and unyielding post or standard. As aresult of this feature of my invention the obj eetionable inaccuracy andunevenness of the breaks or interruptions disappear and a nicety ofadjustment and compensation is feasible, which would not otherwise bepossible. A further objection to the present old style of instrumentabove mentioned is that as the tension of the spring-vibrator isincreased to vary the electrical resistance of the break the sparking ofthe instrument is increased, the current being also otherwise renderedirregular and uncertain, and l have discovered that this is due to thefact that in the adjustment Vof the vibrator the'hammer is thrown moreor less out of alinement with the core end and anvil. Itis therefore onechief feature of my invention to provide means to maintain the hammerinproper accurate alinement with its core and anvil. steadiness of currentare due to the uneven wear of the contacting surfaces of the hammer andanvil, the intense heat of the constant arcing serving to fuse andbatter down .the saidv surfaces unevenly; andA therefore l have mountedone of these surfaces on a rotatable spindle, so that the irregularitiesthereof may be automatically removed or obviated by rotating it as the vhammer is vibrated.

Various other advantages and features of improvement of my invention, aswell as the details of construction thereof, will appear in the courseof the following description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, illustrative of the preferred embodiment thereof.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of an automatic break orinterrupter provided with improvements of my present invention. Fig. 2is an enlarged central vertical section of the right-hand end of Fig. l,showing the details of construction thereof more fully. Fig. 3 is a viewshowing how the contacting surfaces fuse into one another' ininstruments as heretofore constructed. Fig. 4 illustrates one of theobjectionable features ofthe old-style instruments.

On a suitable base A, provided with the requisite complement ofbinding-posts a, is mounted in a jacket B a usual electromagnet b in aframe O, the latter also carrying a switch I), all of usual or preferredconstruction.

A hammer E, carried by a vibrator F, reciprocates between the core end hand an anvil G, being shown as provided with a reduced end e,screw-threaded and held rigidly on the vibrator by a checkmut c.llereto- Again, irregularity and un- IOO fore this vibrator has been aleaf-s irinfr'" as iinv res Jonsive to the viln'ations of thehamindicated in Fig. 'l, this spring being deflected more or less to theright as it is desired to increase the electrical resistance offered bythe hammer, lthe resultbeingas shown in exaggerated Vform in Fig. et,where it appears that the springj', when deflected to its dot# tedposition, inevitably upsets the hammer, so that the latter, whenattracted to the core 7)', strikes the latter with its upper edge c2only, thereby increasing the resistance entirely out of proportion tothat intended and tending to burn or fuse down the small point ofcontact ci, also leaving aspark-gap c, tending` to ruin the hammer. Thedisastrous effects at the opposite end ol. the hammer are of the samesort, the differencebeingthat, the coni aet-surl`aees being smallerandcomposed of platinum, it is still more serious.

l make the vibrator l? .rigid and unyielding for most of its length, asshown atf, a short resilient section fi being preferably provided at itslower end next to the stud CL, to which it is shown as fastened, andthenecessary tension being secured by means of an auxiliary or tensionspring l l, carried on the shank of an adjusting-screw 7i, working atits thread ed end 7]/ in a post u? and journaled at 7n" in thestain'lart'l, cr". An adjustable thumb-nut 715E receives one cud of thespring ll, the opposite end bearing against the vibrator l?, which ridesloosely over thc screw-rod 7t. This is merely a preferred form ofmechanism l'or accomplishing my object. By turn ing the screw 7a. toVthe right or left the spring lll is correspondingly relaxed ortightened, thereby7 tending to move the vibrator F bod ily forward to agreater orless extent to increase the number of ampercs or quantity oli'current transmitted, and it will be noted that the hammer does notdepend on the vibrator Vfor its tension or resistance, but rather on.the independent spring ll, which bears centrally forward against thevibrator, the yield- .ing section f2 flexing readily enough to per mitthe required lnovement forward of the rigid portion f.

The interruptions of the electric current are required to be sofrequentfor el'licient work that the very slightest disturbance isexceedingly objectionable. The breaks should produce a note of twohundred and fifty Vibrations per second at least, and these should beeven or accurate and synchronous. iiiccordingly l have rendered thestandard ai] absolutely rigid and non-vibrant, finding as a result that'the accuracy of break which is sought is thereby attained and that thespeed or note of vibration is raised. l prefer to render the standardthus rigid by interposing a bar or brace l of insulating materialbetween the frame U and standard CL3, this bar boing shown as screwedinto thc frame and held rigid in thc standard by a set-screw il.

"arious other means :for the purpose may be employed, the requirementbeing to prevent the standard, and hence the anvil7 from bemer, and'thereby occasioning a compound or confused vibration or intcrruptiiimofthe eur rent.

Referring now to the third feature of my invention, it will beunderstood that as the hammer end c is pulled away from the anvil G- anare is formed which fuses a slight portion of the opposing surfaces, andas the breaks are rapid these surfaces, although platinum, are quicklyrendered uneven, so that in, the old con-it1.'uction, in which the anvil was carried lixedly on lthe end of its ad- Ijusting-screw, thesurfaces would fuse into each other disastrously, as shown in liig. il,where c designates the hammer and [j the auvil. Accordingly l providemeans to relatively rotate the meeting surfaces of. the au vil andhammer imleiieinlently ol' the rotations due to the adjuslmnniti-l4 ol'said parts, the said means being herein shown as preferably consistingof a .l'reeljprolatalile spindie K, centrallymounted in a hollowadjusting-screw V/v/,having thread ed cngagemen t with an extendedbearing a" in the standard u", being` lixcd in its adj stments by acheek-nut 7u. The spindle lil is rotated by a thumbwheel 7,175, pinnedon its oute r end, and is held against longitudimil mtnement by a collar7d", lixed near its inner end to abut against the inner end ot' lthescrew-carrier 7,1. The spindle is threaded at 7.;l to receive the anvilG, the latter being shown in the form nl a threaded cap provided withthe desired platinum contact, the platininn being soldertnl thereon, asindicated Yin heavy section-lines, Fig. L. The collar 7.1ii and anvilare made ot' a size to permit them to be wi thdrawn,together with theadjustii'lg-scrcw 7.1, as 'the latter is screwed back out ol' thesianifli'ird nik ln practice the operator will slightly rotate the anviloecasioiu'tlly, so as to change its relative position to the hammer,thereby changv ing the fused and li'using places and maintaining thesurfaces even and co1nparatively smooth. The result is that the points olf coutact wear uniformly and. the irregu lari ties an d unsteadiness ofcurrent lnruluctul by the old construction are cured.

lt is understood that as the platinum inyiii'ls wear and fuse away theanvil is nicely adjusted forward by its serow-carrier 7.: to com pensatetherefor. 'Under the old construetion, however, where the anvil ,f wasfixed en the adjusting-scrcw, the surfaces would wear unevenly, asexplained, and as shown in lfig. 3, and then when Vit became necessmy toail/- just the anvil forward it'would be impossible, because it would befound 'that the surfaces had become more or less interlockcd, therein,Ineventing any relative rotatiini thereof, the result being that theapparatus was rendereifl useless until the anvil had. been removed andthe contacting surfaces carefull y tiled down accurately, not onlyentailing less of time but loss of the platinum.

l-lccording to my invention. the adjui-lting IIC) movement is entirelyindependent of any rotation of the anvil.

While I have endeavored above to describe the details of the mechanismin Which I have embodied my invention, I Wish it distinctly understoodthat these are not of the essence of my invention, being merelypreferred embodiments thereof,and that many other means may be employedWithin the spirit and scope of my invention.

I'Iaving fully described my invention, What I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A high-speed break, comprising a coil and its core, an anvil inelectric circuit With said coil, a standard supporting the anvil, and avibrating` hammer in and interrupting said circuit and vibratingbet-Ween said core and anvil, combined with means substantially asdescribed to prevent compound vibrations of said anvil and hammer, forthe purpose set forth.

2. In a high-speed break, the combination with a vibrating hammer, andan anvil, of a standard supporting said anvil, and a brace rigidlysecured between said standard and the frame of the break, substantiallyas described.

3. In a high-speed break, having a hammer vibrating between a core endand an anvil, means to vary the vibrating resistance of said hammer, andmeans to maintain said hammer in approximately unvarying end alinementwith said core end and anvil, substantially as described.

fl. In a highspeed break, a hammer, a vibrator supporting` the same, andan adjustable tension device to vary the resistance of said hammer, saidvibrator having an extended rigid portion extending from said hammer,substantially as described.

5. In a high-speed break, a hammer, a vibrator supporting the same, andan adjustable tension device to vary the resistance of said hammer, saidvibrator having an extended rigid portion extending from said hammer andbeing provided at its opposite end With means to permit said rigidportion to be detlected slightly, substantially as described.

6. In a high-speed break, the combination with a hammer, of a rigidvibrator, means permitting the latter to move laterally, a tensionspringengaging said rigid vibrator, and means to adjust said spring,substantially as described.

7. In an electric break, having a hammer vibrating against an anvil, andmeans to adjust the latter, means to rotate said anvil in`= dependentlyof its said adjustment, substantially as described.

8. In an electric break, the combination With a hammer, its anvil, and ahollow adjusting-screw for the latter, of a spindle carrying said anviland rotatably mounted therein, substantiallyT as described.

9. The hereindescribed anvil, the same consisting of aninteriorly-threaded cap, and a centrally-extended platinum contactintegrally secured thereon, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing Witnesses.

THOMAS B. KINRAIDE.

lVitnesses:

GEO. H. MAXWELL, FREDERICK.' L. EMERY.

